Before the park was developed in 1974, Pleasant Valley was rich with farmland and timber. Seven farms worked the soil and grew corn, winter wheat, and rye, and two of the farms raised dairy cows. The Raines family farm had approximately 189 acres and included several generations of the family in the dairy business. In the early years, milk was bottled and delivered to nearby customers. When electricity became available in 1945, the dairy operation was automated, and milk was delivered to the Queen City Dairy Company in Cumberland. Eventually, dairy trucks picked up large tanks of milk. Logging was also a common livelihood in the valley, and several family-run sawmills operated nearby. Trees were cut and draft horses dragged the logs off the mountains until equipment replaced the animals. Evitt’s Mountain was practically cleared of trees before the area became a park.